Having arguments with family members for having radical views

Does it often happen to you? I just had an argument with my father because he saw my radleft picture folder and lectured me on how things can never be changed and how radicals are violent and dangerous, and how I should focus on my life and yaddy yaddy yadda…

My family is lefty, closet lefty or a-political.
GG comrade.

My family is pretty apolitical, but they essentially believe any propaganda they hear about political activism and radicalism.

I argue with my dad a lot, but luckily he’s actually educated (classics PhD) so it doesn’t degenerate into too much normie tier stupidity. He’s basically a socdem with a few Marxist leanings, for example he thinks that the collapse of capitalism is inevitable via things like automation, market saturation, crises, etc. But he doesn’t think it’s a good idea to try and force revolutionary movements, only that we should make conditions as good as possible for the proles until capitalism goes away on its own. He’s also very chill about international events, whereas I can come off as an alarmist. I’ll come in going on about how we’re on the verge of war with North Korea and Iran and he’ll usually take the position that it’s unlikely.

I think they know about my radical views, but they don't care much because I behave decently as a person.

There's no such thing as apoliticism (spelling?), comrades.

Think of it as centrism bordering on political apathy then.

I really, really wish "gah, my family doesn't GET my views" would stop being such a prominent theme in every left-wing board.

well your dad's right

advlcate for universal healthcare liberal here

no because talking about politics is rude.
so I don't talk about politics to them

It’s complicated with my family tbh. They are common proles with some reactionary views. They mostly voted for trump tho don’t support him.
But it’s weird, they know I’m a communist. My stepdad as an example seems rather agnostic to party politics, constantly talks about the how the rich own and are fucking up this country, about how eventually shit is gonna boil over into revolution and violence against the state. I joke all the time that what he says is straight out of Karl Marx’s mouth and I think he listens but isn’t one to educate himself or become class conscious.
I meet a lot of working class people like this. Years and years of brainwashing and propaganda make people violently recoil in response to names, like communism or Karl Marx, despite the fact they probably agree with the majority of the philosophies. It’s a tough game anons

You wouldn't have a problem arguing against this if you were an actual Marxist, because you could just explain historical and dialectical materialism to him.
I've found that people react differently to totally random things. If you argue support for Cuba, most people won't bat an eye, but if you argue support for DPRK (which is very similar to Cuba), people will instantly go psycho.

He's right. Kim Jong Un himself has repeatedly said that the nukes guarantee peace. If you stopped being an anarkiddie and listened to KJU you'd know the media war hype is just part of the annual military drills.

Lol, you really think I haven't tried? It's truly pointless, believe me.

your dad souns like a lukewarm faggot, tbh

I haven't. I never start it because my views are extremist and it would scare my normie relatives.

what a hothead

Well are you a radical or a Marxist?

Not really. I have no problem even with critical support of unnocupied Korea. My mother is nazbol with master's degree in economics, so we debate a little sometimes. My father is classical liberal, we argue a little bit when we drink, but if he get's a little hooked on communist ideas he just says
after which I allways bring up to conversation some dank meymey about Mao's sparrows/posadas or similar stuff, and agree that I am not going to do revolution, and should focus on improving my life within boundaries of our current regime.

he is right.

This.

pick one.

Both. Marxism is a revolutionary ideology. I don't see how revolutionary beliefs aren't radical.

I am. Both aren't mutually exclusive.

Vague "radicalism" is just liberalism.

Well, it was coined during the 18th Century to describe liberals. Nowadays, it's pretty much a general term for anyone who advocates a radical political or social change, be it on the left or the right.

I just mean that he largely identifies the problems, which is a huge start as most are completely unaware of them, but doesn’t look any further into it. Many proles, my stepdad included, just liken it to greed, without recognizing the system itself begets such behaivor.
Does that make sense? Basically what I am getting as is it’s one thing to recognize you are working class, that other person is ruling class/capitalist. It’s another to actually recognize the antogisms within this dichotomy and to understand property relations are central to these antogonisms. Most people are conscious of their class, few are class conscious

Good sign that Marxists shouldn't call themselves radicals then.

Unironically the way I approach my family. I don't talk about it because I haven't found a way to do it that would seem productive.

Here in Poland we discuss politics on every family meeting. It's probably a tradition by now, because it is one of the few occasions in year to meet the whole family and discuss with them. Proving my leftist viewpoint is really hard, because let's be honest- socialism in my country was a failure, and most people live better now. The hardest one to discuss is my dad, he approaches things mainly from rational point of view (which I really admire), and calls my views "utopian", arguing that he lived under the "communism" and things weren't great.

I try not to unless I'm being called out for "having sympathies for violent extremist thugs".

His lack of theory doesn't matter. If he recognize which class is making problems, he will act in anti-capitalist way when shit hits the fan next time. I advise to back down and start arguing just for Wolff's "democratization" of economy. I never met person so far who would make convincing arguments against it.

lmao

first mistake m8

I think talking about politics is something you should at the least approach with caution. I remember my grandparents always told me that the surest way to lose friends and gain enemy’s is to talk about politics or religion. Nowadays it seems like everybody wants everybody to know their political beliefs though so it’s no wonder people get isolated in their little political clicks. I try to stay away from that kind of thing.

If you don't tell literally everyone you meet that the DPRK is the only free nation on earth, you're a weakling and a coward.

Only by being vocal and unabashed in our views can we ever hope to grow in strength and numbers.

I used to be afraid of triggering people too, until I realized that if everyone did the same, nothing will ever change for the better.

This, but (un)ironically

your father is smart, maybe if you read a single book in your pathetic life you would understand that the prerequisites for communism are not yet in place you giant faggot

I wish i had your family

Lol your dad's a fag.

What does that have to do with anything you fucking retard?

based

Best ideology

I do my level best to conceal my power level around them because they are panicky, paranoid idiots. I don't even have Stalin's dick in my mouth or anything, I just think the system is corrupt and should be replaced with something with a better social safety net, better representation, less corruption (read: cut Porky's nads off), no more fucking idpol on either side, and idealy one that prepares us for the transition into Star Trek utopia, prevents environmental meltdown and some other good shit. I don't consider myself any particular -ism, I'm on the libertarian-left side of the dank political chart hovering around 'I just want to smoke weed', 'something something Catalonia' and 'muh yeoman farmers'. The only crap I sperg out about in their presence is ayy420legalizeitfgtlmao and generic muh freedoms muh privacy shit.

Dad is a primitivist teaboo Blimp and appears strongly to worry I'm bluepilled, though he's never heard the term, thank God. I was bluepilled on some things back in the day, but he thinks anything I disagree with him on is just the last of that I haven't gotten better from yet. And that he'll provide a helpful nudge with his spergouts and hot takes.
Mom is a nannystatist boomer stereotype and appears strongly to worry I'm autright, though she's never heard the term, thank God. A poor choice of my words around a shrink I almost got in a physical altrecation with may have made her think I'm mgtow when in reality I'm just loveshy, paranoid, superficial, cheap and picky.

They don't conceal their power levels around me at all, and use me as a shrink. It fucking sucks ass.
Both feel the need to 'casually bring up' stuff they think will make me rethink the positions they barely understand because they never ask more than like three questions before leaping to their respective insane troll logic conclusions, then argue with hot takes anons here would be most familiar with next to an image of a gorilla looking contemplative or 'Leftycucks btfo' in the subject line, or possibly in screencaps of clueless normies' fedbook posts. It's like they're afraid of what they'll find or hope I'll throw the first spergout or something so they shy away from looking whenever they think they're digging too deep. Being WASPs, they never confront me on being the boogeymanwith this or the other moral panics that made/make them think I'm other boogeymen (Supreme Gentleman™, Guy Who Values His Privacy Because Cheese Pizza™, Whigger™, Hikki™, and many more that also turned out to be untrue but still hamstrung me for years!), they just keep putting fire on Holla Forumsyp and tumblrina positions I've never defended and assuming I'm triggered when I get sick of them trying to beat me upside the head with their ill-informed us-vs.-them opinions that assume I'm the superdevil.

...

My dad is a hardcore neocon. Yes. A lot.

I feel your pain, comrade.

What are you, FARC? Shining Path?

Not really, mostly because I don't take myself too seriously, and neither do the conservatives or the liberals in my family. It also helps having a crypto Syndicalist grandma so we can both vent to each other.

Ignore him, he's been shitting up multiple threads with his bullshit, but never sticks around to actually back up any of his points when called out. I'm pretty sure he's just a Holla Forumsyp troll.

she still has strange ideas but i'll accept that as quirks of someone too close to be mad over

i started to do this too, just at "opportune times" such as having news on TV, radio or paper, a discussion i overhear or whatever. usually people just shut up and look at me stunned that someone on the left would actually say shit like "if you have an issue with immigrants then why have you not driven out american troops off german soil you disgusting bootlicking traitors?"
it's fun, really.

My mom is pretty much a socialist because of me, and my step-father is at least sympathetic. These were pro-life conservatives, mind you. I find the best way to convince people is to take things they care about, and show how capitalism makes it worse.

Your mother sounds like the perfect Posadist, lol.

If I would wager a guess, I would assume that your father is probably somewhere between late baby-boomer and early Gen-X in age.

Americans born in this time period have pretty much only experienced (or believe they have experienced) things getting roughly better than they were when they were younger. From the crazy increase in technology/internet to the expansion of western military hegemony to the roughly stable world-state post-MAD that sees America as the dominant world-power - they remember hearing stories about the great depression from their parents and grandparents but they didn't have to live through it themselves. Of course they have seen economic events like 2008, but they might point to that and say it was a terrible crash but the economy recovered, look where we are now, things will be alright, they've always been alright, etc.

Older Americans, in my experience, believe that things will always keep getting better and better, even if they perceive that change as something that is happening slowly, somewhere (and there's no shortage of futurists telling them we'll be colonizing mars by the end of the century or some such nonsense). These are people who are often unable to hold the idea that their society or way of life could be utterly changed or outright collapse - for them it is outside the realm of possibility. I think it is this mindset, that things will always get better, that there will always be more, that makes radical thoughts hard for them to hold or be around. Being radical means acknowledging how bad things are, how bad they can be, how bad they are going to be, etc. It is counter to the American exceptionalism that a lot of people grew up with and have had pounded into their heads for their entire lives.

Damn, thats actually pretty fucking based. Wish I had family that I could have an actual indepth political discussion.

my parents (mother in particular) doesn't even know who tf Marx is. My dad at least says that he admires the Red Army choir.

I don't have arguments because my family shares my values and radical views.

You guessed right.

I don't even bother talking politics with my family. They only have the most shallow interest in politics, and are either typical Trump supporters or typical Hillary supporters.

That's because america is WHIG territory.